Pyrolysis of atmospheric residue of petroleum (ATR) using AlSBA-15 mesoporous material by TG and Py-GC/MS

The mesoporous material AlSBA-15 with Si/Al molar ratio of 25 was synthesized by the hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption. This is a promising material in the field of catalysis, particularly for petroleum refining, since their mesopores facilitate the accessibility of large hydrocarbon molecules to the active sites of AlSBA-15, producing light hydrocarbons. In order to evaluating the catalytic activity of AlSBA-15, a sample of ca. 10 % in mass of this solid was physically mixed with atmospheric residue of petroleum (ATR) and heated in a thermobalance from room temperature up to 900 °C, under nitrogen atmosphere. From TG curves, it was observed a reduction in the onset temperature, when AlSBA-15 was used as catalyst for the degradation process of ATR. The kinetic model proposed by Ozawa–Flynn–Wall yielded some kinetic parameters to determine the apparent activation energy of the degradation, evidencing the efficiency of the mesoporous material, since there was a decrease in the activation energy for the catalytic degradation. The ATR alone and mixed with AlSBA-15 was also heated in a pyrolysis reactor coupled to a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer (Py-GC/MS). From the chromatograms, it was observed an increase in the yield of hydrocarbons in the range of gasoline and diesel derived from the catalytic process. These results are due to the combination of the mesoporosity and acidity of the AlSBA-15 for application in the process of pyrolysis of hydrocarbons molecules constituents of the ATR.